Masonic Legends - Rose Croix

Masonic Legends
Roderick H. Baxter
The purpose of this short paper -- written, by request, for the
Transactions of the Dorset Masters Lodge -- is to call attention to some
legends attached to the craft of Masonry, both Operative and
Speculative, which require consideration and in some cases
elucidation.
To begin with, I might point out that the ritual, which we hear recited
in our lodges, contains many statements that are either untrue or are
very loosely made, as well as some assertions that are quite devoid of
authority. I think we may regard these statements and assertions as
being legends for our present purpose.
Bro. T.W. Rowe, in a paper "Rowe versus Emulation," read before the
Masters' and Past Masters' Association, Christchurch, New Zealand,
dealt extensively with these, as well as with the grammatical errors
and faults of literacy style which blemish our ceremonies; and again
Bro. the Rev. W.W. Covey-Crump, in his installation address to the
Quatuor Coronati Lodge, dealt extensively with the scriptural
inaccuracies which have found their way into our ritual.
It has been suggested, and not without reason, that these and other
palpable mistakes of one kind and other are proofs of our descent from
the working masons of old days, who handed down orally from
generation to generation the secret lore of the craft. Nothing would be
more likely to happen than confusion in this kind of transmission.
Some Inaccuracies
Perhaps before passing on to other legends I ought just to mention
some of these inaccuracies in the ritual to which I have above made
allusion. When we are told that a certain sign took its rise at the time
Joshua fought the battles of the Lord in the valley of Jehosophat (or it
may sometimes be Rephidim or Ajalon) we are quite at a loss to find
scriptural authority for the statement. For something analogous to it,
we can find in Exodous xvii, 8-13, an account of a posture adopted by
Moses when he held up his hand so that Israel might prevail. A very
fine picture by the late Sir John E. Millais, P.R.A., in the Manchester Art
Gallery, depicts this incident, with Aaron and Hur supporting the
Prophet's hands.

At another stage of our proceedings we say "And god said 'In strength
will I establish this house,' " etc., but there does not seem to be any
record of this in the sacred volume.
Pillars, of one kind and another, play a fairly conspicuous part in our
ceremonies, and those to which I would first of all call your attention
were the two great pillars at the entrance to the Temple erected by
King Solomon. We are accustomed to speak of them as the right and
left hand pillars, but this must surely lead to confusion, for it is evident
that everything depends on the point of view. Fortunately, we can
dispel the difficulty for we read in II Chron. Iv, 10. "And he set the sea
on the right side of East end, over against the south." As the entrance
to the Temple was at the East end, over against the South." As the
entrance to the Temple was at the East end, the positions of the pillars
is thus clearly defined, and actually they are exactly opposite to the
common acceptance. I believe the credit of having solved this problem
belongs to Bro. J.T. Thorp, of Leicester, the able editor of the
Transactions of the Lodge of Research, No. 2429.
As to these pillars there is no authority for saying that they were
formed hollow "to serve as archives for Masonry," not that they were a
memorial of the miraculous pillars of fire and cloud that attended the
Israelites in their wanderings. Nor, again, is there any mention in the
Scriptures of these pillars being adorned with balls. And as to these
balls having maps of the terrestrial and celestial globes, we can only
say that to the best of our knowledge map-drawing was invented by
Anaximander of Miletus, in the sixth century B.C.; even if Solomon did
use maps centuries before they were known, he displayed a wonderful
lack of wisdom in exhibiting them on pillars, which, at the lowest
computation, must have been at least twenty-seven feet in height !
The Old Charges
In a wonderful series of old MSS. known by the title of Old Charges we
have, amongst other things, a kind of history of the craft or story of
the gild which is commonly called the Legend of the Craft. These old
documents, which date from about the end of the fourteenth century,
so far as transcription is concerned, but are necessarily of a much
older origin, have been described as the title deeds of our fraternity,
furnishing the necessary proofs of our antiquity. I cannot do better
than give you a modernised transcript of my own for this legend,
merely premising that it has been compiled, not from one MS. only,
but has been made to embody the essentials of the whole series. It
runs something in the following manner:--

Good Brethren and Fellows, our purpose is to tell you how and in what
manner this worthy Craft of Masonry was first begun, and afterwards
how it was mentioned and cherished by Kings and Princes and many
other worshipful men; and to those that are here we shall declare the
charges that every Freemason should keep. For the science of Masonry
is a virtuous Craft, and well worthy to be kept, being one of the seven
liberal arts and sciences which are as follow. The first is Grammar,
which teaches man to speak and write correctly. The second is
Rhetoric, which teaches man to speak in subtle terms. The third is
Logic, which teaches man to discern truth from falsehood. The fourth
is Arithmetic, which teaches man to reckon and count all numbers. The
fifth is Geometry, which teaches man to mete and measure the earth
and all manner of things and Masonry is of this science. The sixth is
Music, which teaches man the craft of song and sweet sounds, and the
seventh is Astronomy, which teaches man to know the course of the
sun, moon and stars.
Thus it may be proved that all the sciences of the world are grounded
on the science of Geometry, for there is no trade or craft which does
not work by mete or measure, nor does man buy or sell anything
except by weight or measure, and especially do ploughmen and tillers
of the soil work by the science of Geometry. None of the other
sciences can enable man to carry on his trade or craft in such a way,
wherefore we argue that Geometry is the worthiest of all sciences.
We shall now tell you how this science was begun. According to the
fourth chapter of Genesis, before Noah's flood, there was a man called
Lamech who had two wives, one called Ada and the other Zillah. The
first wife Ada bore him two sons, Jabal and Jubal, and the second wife
Zillah bore him a son and a daughter, tubal-Cain and Naamah. These
four children found the beginning of all the crafts in the world. Jabel,
the eldest son, found the craft of Geometry, and he was the first
person to divide lands and flocks of sheep and lambs, and he was also
the first to build a house of wood and stone. Jubal found the craft of
Music, Tubal-Cain the craft of the Smith and Naamah the craft of
Weaving. Now these children knew that God would take vengeance
upon the earth, either by fire or water, and in order that their
discoveries might be preserved to future generations they wrote them
upon two pillars of stone; on of marble, which would not burn in fire,
and the other of lattress, which would not drown in water. After the
destruction of the world by flood, Hermes, who has been called the
Father of Wise Men, found one of the pillars and taught the sciences
written thereon to other men. At the building of the Tower of Babel,
masonry was in great repute, and Nimrod, the King of Babylon, was

himself a Mason and a lover of the craft, so that when Nineveh and
other cities of the East were about to be built, he sent thither three
score masons at the request of his cousin, the King of Nineveh, and
when they went forth he gave them a Charge in this manner:-- That
they should love each other truly, in order that no discredit should fall
on him for sending them, and he also gave them a charge concerning
their science. These were the first Masons who ever received any
charge. At a later date when Abraham, with his wife Sarah, went into
Egypt he taught the seven sciences to the Egyptians, and he had a
worthy scholar called Euclid, who made profitable use of his
instructions. In these times it happen ed that many Lords and other
great men of the realm had so many sons, some by their wives and
some by other ladies, for that is a hot country and plenteous of
generation, that they had not sufficient means to maintain them.
So the King of the Country called a Council together and caused a
parliament to be held to ascertain if any scheme could be devised to
remove the difficulty. After full consideration they issued a
proclamation that if anyone could inform them of any cunning art or
science which would be of any avail he should be richly rewarded.
Euclid, therefore, came before the King and his Council and offered, on
condition of being appointed by commission to rule over them, to
teach their sons the seven liberal sciences. The commission having
been granted, Euclid took these Nobles' sons and instructed them in
the science of Geometry and how to apply the knowledge to all
manner of worthy works, such as the building of castles, churches,
manors, towns and houses, and he gave them Charges similar to those
which Nimrod had given in Babylon, with the addition of others which
would take us too long to describe; and he made them swear a great
oath, which men used at that time and gave them reasonable wages
that they might live honestly. And he also arranged that they should
assemble annually in order that they might take counsel together and
settle any points in dispute, and how best generally to advance the
interest of the craft.
Long afterwards, when the Children of Israel were come into the Land
of Behest, which we now call Canaan, King David began to build the
Temple of the Lord, and he loved Masons well and gave them Charges
as Euclid had done in Egypt. And after the death of David, his son
Solomon completed the temple which his father had begun, and he
sent for masons into divers towns and countries, and gathered
together twenty-four thousand men, of whom one thousand were
ordained to be governors of work. And there was a King of another
country whose name was Hiram, and he loved King David well and

gave him timber for his work, and he had a son name Aymon, who
was a master of Geometry and chief of all Masons and of all graven
and carved work belonging to the Temple, as related in the First Book
of Kings.
Skilful craftsmen walked abroad in different countries, some to learn
more science and others to spread the knowledge they had already
gained, and it happened that there was a curious craftsman named
Naymus Graecus who had been at the building of King Solomon's
Temple, and he went int France and there taught the craft to Charles
Martel, who afterwards became King of that country. Charles took
upon himself the charges of a mason, and for the love he bore to
masons he set many of them to work and gave them good wages and
ordained for them an annual assembly as previously related for
masons in Egypt.
England at that time stood void of any charge of Masonry, but when
St. Amphibal came out of France he converted St. Alban to
Christianity. The King of England at that time was a pagan, and he
walled the town of Veralum, which is now called St. Albans, round
about, and St. Alban, who was a worthy Knight, was chief steward to
the King, and had the government of the realm and also the making of
all walls, towers and other works, and he loved masons well and
cherished them much and made their pay right good, considering the
times, for he gave them thirty pence a week with three-pence a day
for their noon-findings, for at that time a mason took but a penny a
day and his meat, and he gave them charges which St. Amphibal had
taught him and they differ but little from the charges in use at this
day. Soon after the death of St. Alban grievous wars disturbed the
realm and the good order of Masonry was destroyed, until the time of
King Athelstane, who brought the land to rest and peach and erected
many abbeys, castles, and other buildings, and he had a son called
Edwin, who loved Masons even more than his father did, and was a
great practiser of Geometry and communed much with Masons, and he
was afterwards made a Mason himself, and he obtained from the King,
his father, a charter that they might hold every year an assembly
wheresoever they wished within the realm, that they might correct any
faults, errors, or trespasses concerning their craft. Edwin himself
presided over a great assembly of Masons at York, and he there made
Masons, and he ordered all who had any writing concerning masonry
to produce them, when some were found to be in Latin, some in
Greek, sone in French and some in other languages; but the meanings
were all one, and he caused a book to be made thereof telling how the

craft was found, and he commanded that it should be read whenever
any Mason should be made and that he should be given his charge.
Right worshipful masters and fellows who have been at divers
assemblies from time to time since then have ordained and made
other charges according to the necessities of the times, and these
charges have been seen and perused by our late Sovereign Lord Henry
VI and the Lords of the honourable Council who have approved them
and agreed that they were good and reasonable. And the good rule of
masonry obtains to this day, the charges being descended through the
various channels described in the foregoing narrative.
The manner of taking the oath at the making of Masons:--
Tunc unus ex senioribus teneat librum et ille vel illi ponant manus
supra librum tunc praecepta deberunt legi. [then one of the elders
shall hold out a book and he or they (who are to be made masons)
shall place his or their hands upon it and the following precepts shall
be read].
"Every man that is a Mason take heed right wisely to these Charges, if
you find yourselves guilty of any trespasses amend your errors against
God, for it is a great peril to forswear yourselves upon a book."
As you will easily observe, this is a perfect farrago of nonsense so far
as history and chronology are concerned. Nevertheless, it is not
without interest of value; and I have myself in a paper on the Old
Charges and the ritual read before the Q.C. Lodge in 1918, tried to
develop a theory that it has served as a basis for our ritual, not only so
far as the general run of our ceremonies is concerned but in many
cases as to the actual verbiage.
Quatuor Coronati and Other Legends
An examination of the legend will reveal that running through it are
quite a number of subsidiary legends, which have been dealt with at
various times by diligent students. I might specially mention the
Naymus Graecus legend and the Prince Edwin legend which have been
specially handled from time to time int he pages of A.Q.C.
And this, quite appropriately, brings me to the legend of the Quatuor
Coronati itself. There are various accounts of this to be found in old
MSS, but, so far as our purpose is concerned, we cannot do better
than consult the Oration delivered at the Consecration of the Quatuor

Coronati Lodge by the late Bro. The Rev. A.F. Woodford and the By-
Laws of the same Lodge which embody the story as unfolded by the
first Secretary, the late Br. G.W. Speth.
It really seems, then, that the title Quatuor Coronati embraces two
groups of Saints, one comprising five craftsmen and the other four
soldiers in the roman army, who suffered martyrdom in the time of the
Emperor Diocletian, and whose festival is now dated in the calendar of
the Church of Rome on the 8 th November -- the day appropriately set
aside for the installation meeting of the Lodge. The mason martyrs
were named Cladius, Nicostratus, Symphoranius and Castorius, with
an artisan, Simplicius; and the soldiers were Severus, Severianus,
Carpophorus and Victorinus. The martyrdom of the first group has
been assigned to A.D. 296 or 302, and of the second to 298 or 304. I
need not delay you with details of their offences, nor the methods of
their deaths. It is sufficient for our purpose that they suffered and died
for their faith.
And, turning now to the question of the Mason-word, which may
possibly lie within the compass of a paper of this kind, we know from a
poem named "The Muses Threnodie," by henry Adamson, M.A.,
published at Perth in 1638, that the word existed at least as early as
that date, for, along with other significant allusions, we have the
couplet:-
For we be Brethren of the Rosy Cross
We have the Mason-word and second sight.
Again, in the year 1652 the Presbytery of Kelso sustained the action of
the Rev. James Ainslie in becoming a Freemason declaring there was
"neither sinne nor scandale in that word" -- meaning the Mason-word.
It has been stated frequently that this word has been lost, and that we
have now no idea what it was, but some students incline to the idea
that the indications are sufficiently clear to enable us to form a very
shrewd guess. Here I cannot be very explicit. I must only guardedly
hint that it was a word of omnific power.
The Death of the Builder
As to the Hiramic Legend -- the most important, perhaps, of all our
legends -- it is only possible to say that there is no direct reference to
it in the V.S.L. Nevertheless, Bro. The Rev. Morris Rosenbaum has
endeavoured to shew in a paper, "The Two Hirams," that although the

death of the builder is not specifically mentioned in the Bible, there
were really two Hirams -- father and son -- one of whom was the
designer, or architect, of the building and the other the mere artificer
who cast the pillars and vessels of brass. The former was dead -- by
what means we can only guess -- when the latter completed the work.
In Ezekiel xxvii we have an account of the slaying of the Prince of
Tyre, who has been suggested as the second of the G.Ms. at the
building of the Temple, and again in I Kings, xii, 18, we read of the
murder of Adoram, who is elsewhere referred to as Adonhiram, by the
mob. I dare not in this mode of communication say more.
Very significant concerning our third step in Freemasonry are two
proper names to be found in I Chronicles ii, 49, and xii, 13, especially
when studied in connection with the tables of proper names, not only
in connection with the Genevan version of the Bible, but in some
modern concordances. I should like to suggest that we continue to use
in our workings, in view of this evidence, the old expression, "the
builder is smitten," in preference to the modern one "the builder is
slain."
I might here mention that corruptions of the words I am hinting at are
to be found in early prints and writings, some of which may fairly be
claimed as being of pre-Grand Lodge date.
This legend of the death of the builder is worth considering in
connection with features in many notable buildings, the most
important of which is perhaps that of the Prentice Pillar in Roslin
Chapel, near Edinburgh. Here we have a story so closely approaching
our own Hiramic Legend that we cannot help associating the two. Nor
can we imagine that the story has been invented after the erection of
the structure, for we have in addition to a subsidiary pillar known as
the master's, carvings of the widow's head, the Master-mason's head
and the Apprentice's head with the wound on the forehead. Other
examples may be found in the Apprentice bracket at Gloucester, the
fine wheel window at Lincoln and several others, all involving the same
general idea -- the death of the master-mason, or chief builder, or the
apprentice of skill, who certainly technically died as an apprentice to
rise as a master of his craft. Nor, I think, should we neglect the
attitudes of certain carved figures of which I shall now only
particularise a boss on the vaulting under the parvice at Peterborough.
Benhadad's Escape

In I Kings, xx, we have an account of the defeat of Benhadad, King of
Syria, by Ahab, King of Israel, when the former was taken captive and
would in the ordinary course of events have been put to death, but
intercessions occurred with favourable results for we read: "So they
girded sackcloth on their loins and put ropes on their heads and came
to the King of israel and said. They servant Banhadad saith, I pray
thee let me live. And he said - IS he yet alive? He IS my brother. Now
the men did diligently observe whether ANYTHING WOULD COME from
him and did hastily catch IT: and they said Thy brother Benhadad.
It would, of course, be going too far to suggest that we have here an
example of a masonic sign having saved a man's life, but for what the
incident is worth I think it worthwhile placing it on record in this paper
on legends.
Before drawing to a conclusion, I might class as legends the various
subterfuges adopted by Brethren to conceal their lack of Masonic
Knowledge. Many of these have been brought to my notice. A wellknown
brother asked me about certain peculiar characters on the Third
Degree T.B. He was told by P.Ms. that he could not have any
explanation until he had reached the chair. After his installation he was
fobbed off with the excuse that the explanation could only be given to
R.A. masons, and them, when he had attained that rank, he was
assured that he would need to wait until he had passed the first
Principal's chair. All of which is very pathetic, for really any novice with
the aid of the Masonic cipher, with its several variations and
inversions, can quite readily decode the harmless characters. And this
brings me to the meaning of the three figures 5 on the coffin. We are
all inclined to view subjects from our own standpoint. Being
accustomed to read plans on which levels can only be indicated by a
figure, I for long assumed that they referred to the DEPTH of the
grave, for we are instructed "there in a grave from the centre three
feet east and three feet west" (that is to say six feet long) "three feet
between north and south" (three feet wide) "and five feet of more
perpendicular" (five feet -- or more -- deep). On mentioning this to a
brother architect, he disagreed with me and said, that in his opinion,
the figures referred to the three groups of Fellow-crafts who were sent
in search of the missing G.M. But a little later in the day, whilst
discussing the matter with Bro. Songhurst, the erudite Secretary of the
Quatuor Coronati Lodge, he informed me that the figures had arrived
by a process of evolution. On early boards, or cloths, the marks of the
feet were shewn so that candidates might take the steps correctly.
Later these foot-marks were replaced by two inclined lines resembling

the Roman numeral V, and from this it was easy to imagine how the
Arabic numeral 5 came to be substituted.
Thus far have I carried my rambling remarks, and it is evident that my
paper is more tentative or suggestive than in any way complete. I
must, therefore, endeavour to close with a suggestion as to the
meaning of our system, and it is no less than this. Nature has
implanted in the breast of man a hope that when he has finished with
this mortal existence something remains for him in a future state. All
the mysteries that ever existed have taught the story of a birth, a
death and a resurrection or regeneration -- even the Christian faith is
no exception to this rule -- and therefore it is no wonder that the
Masons of old, who were engaged in the erection of actual temples,
should have transmitted to their Speculative successors, who are
engaged in the erection of spiritual temples, the tradition or legend of
a glorious faith in immortality.
S.M.I.B.
Extracted from:
British Masonic Miscellany, Vol 15
compiled by
George M .Martin P.M., S.C.
Published by
David Winter and Son
Shore Terrace, Dundee (Scotland
(Pages 122-135)